EU reiterates it will not recognize results of Donbas unlawful vote

(QHA) -

The European Union's stance concerning the November 2 illegal elections in the self-proclaimed Luhansk (LPR) and Donetsk (DPR) People's Republics remains unchanged and the EU will not recognize their results, EU Delegation to Russia spokesman Soren Liborius told Interfax on Sunday evening.

Liborius said that the European External Action Service had already issued a statement of EU High Representative and Vice President Federica Mogherini regarding this matter.

"I consider today's 'presidential and parliamentary elections' in Donetsk and Luhansk 'People's Republics' a new obstacle on the path towards peace in Ukraine. The vote is illegal and illegitimate, and the European Union will not recognize it," Mogherini said in her statement.

"These 'elections' were held contrary to the letter and the spirit of the Minsk Protocol, signed by the representatives of the trilateral Contact Group, and obstruct efforts to find a sustainable political solution to the crisis," she said.

"Early local elections in accordance with Ukrainian law, as foreseen in the Minsk Protocol, are the legal and legitimate means of renewing the democratic mandate of the local authorities in these parts of Ukraine," she said.

The statement also calls on Russia to use its influence to help pave the way for local elections in accordance with Ukrainian laws. It would be a very valuable contribution to the implementation of the Minsk Protocol, it said.